The Lakers, Clippers (whose lease runs out in 2024) and NHL’s Kings have been co-tenants since the 1999-2000 NBA season.

Per ESPN:

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has begun to explore potential sites for a new Clippers arena, multiple NBA sources said. […] The Clippers would neither confirm nor deny they are actively searching for a location, but one NBA source said that an area that piques the franchise’s interest is Los Angeles’ west side.

A new facility owned and operated by the team would afford the Clippers greater power to maximize earning opportunities, from sponsorship to licensing fees. As the owner of Staples Center, AEG retains control over naming rights, the business operations of running the facility for events and other substantial revenue streams like concessions. […] Sources with knowledge of the Clippers’ lease agreement said that, in many regards, the team operates as Staples Center’s “third tenant,” a condition that’s becoming increasingly tiresome to the organization. The Clippers receives a smaller share of proceeds from suites and club seats than the Lakers and Kings, according to sources, and a lesser say in scheduling and the overall fan experience at the arena.

One league source said the Clippers have identified six locations, all in southern California. At the Geekwise Sports Tech Summit, Ballmer emphasized he had no plans to relocate the Clippers. […] “The Clippers are not going anywhere, ever,” Ballmer said. “I will die owning the L.A. Clippers in Los Angeles.”

After yet another masterful performance that edged the Los Angeles Lakers ever closer to a Playoff berth, one continues to marvel at Kobe Bryant’s will. While most observers expect the Lakers to either get destroyed in the first round, or not qualify for the postseason at all, Bryant believes in his team (and above all, himself). Kobe sees what the LA Kings and the New York Giants were able to pull off as underdogs in 2012, and thinks his squad can do something similar this season. Per CBS Sports: “‘There’s no secret,’ Bryant said. ‘There’s no magic formula. I watch what I eat and I train my ass off. I’m in the type of condition right now that, a lot of my predecessors at this age probably couldn’t do it.’ Not to mention a lot of much younger contemporaries. By winning in Portland, the Lakers spared themselves the added pressure of Friday night at home against Golden State being a virtual must-win. Had the Lakers lost to the Blazers and then the Warriors, they would’ve been one loss or a Utah win away from being eliminated. Now, with the Jazz holding the tiebreaker, the Lakers can get in by winning out no matter what Utah does. ‘When you’re battle-tested, you really figure out what your team is made of,’ Bryant said. ‘I think this is great for us. If we continue to work hard and things fall the way we expect them to and we’re in the postseason, I think going through type of pressure in these games will help prepare us for the postseason.’ Bryant is such a maniacal competitor, so obsessed with chasing that sixth championship, that you don’t know whether he’s found some motivational elixir or he’s fooling himself. Time will tell. But in a moment of reflection after the dust had settled on this virtuoso performance –one of the last masterpieces he knows he has left — Bryant said he still believes championship qualities lurk within the Lakers’ locker room. ‘It’s here,’ he said. ‘Definitely. Absolutely. A lot of teams would’ve folded tonight. Earlier in the year, with us not having the identity that we have and not knowing how we’re going to use each other, we probably would’ve lost this game.’ […] ‘It’s about making the most out of it and turning it into a good situation,’ Bryant said. ‘I really lean on examples from other sports. The L.A. Kings and what they did last year and the Giants, what they were able to accomplish, going through a very tumultuous regular season and then putting things together at the right time. There’s things that you can lean on to look at how they were able to succeed.'”

]]>http://www.slamonline.com/nba/kobe-bryant-draws-inspiration-from-the-la-kings-and-ny-giants/feed/4Game 4 of the Spurs/Clippers Series Could Be Delayed on Sundayhttp://www.slamonline.com/nba/game-4-of-the-spursclippers-series-could-be-delayed-on-sunday/
http://www.slamonline.com/nba/game-4-of-the-spursclippers-series-could-be-delayed-on-sunday/#commentsFri, 18 May 2012 14:05:37 +0000http://www.slamonline.com/online/?p=207439

There are a ton of events taking place at Staples Center in Los Angeles this weekend, and as a result, there could be a delay in the start of Game 4 in the Spurs/Clippers series. The OC Register reports: “A combination of six playoff basketball and hockey games will be played over four days, capped by the finish of the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race, which will end at the intersection of Figueroa Street and Chick Hearn Court. An estimated 250,000 people are expected to attend the games and race. ‘I’ve called this the perfect storm, but I’m just hoping this doesn’t become a tsunami effect,’ said Staples Center Senior Vice President and General Manager Lee Zeidman. After a run of postseason success, all three Staples Center tenants – Lakers, Clippers and NHL Kings – will combined for the busiest weekend in the 13-year history of the arena. […] The disaster could strike Sunday, when the Kings are set to start at 12:30 p.m., followed by a 7:30 p.m. tipoff for the Clippers’ Game 4. Should the Kings and Coyotes go into multiple overtimes, according to NBA senior vice president of basketball communications Tim Frank, it would push back the start of the Clippers game, forcing 20,000 fans to wait an hour or longer outside and the NBA stars to sit in their locker rooms for an undetermined length of time. […] ‘There’s nothing we can do at this point except hope for the best,’ Zeidman said. ‘We’ve done 127 conversions in the 13-year history of Staples and 44 have been hockey to basketball.’ Zeidman said scheduling was dictated by the NBA and NHL and their television broadcast partners. ‘Never in my wildest dreams did I think that they would do a doubleheader in the playoffs with a hockey game and a basketball game,’ he said. In addition to laying the Clippers court over the ice and configuring the seats, crews also must clean the suites, stands and restrooms and re-stock the concessions before allowing any fans through the doors.”